The primary cause for losses and lost opportunities at refineries, chemical complexes, pipeline networks and gas processing facilities is equipment failures. The costs of these failures can run into hundreds of millions of dollars. Without a firm commitment to prevent failures, there is little hope for avoiding these enormous losses. Technologies abound that claim to prevent failures. These new technologies suggest that collecting vast amounts of data, applying hundreds of algorithms and simulations, and utilizing years of recorded history will somehow reveal hidden failure mechanisms and allow for significant improvements in failure prevention. A closer look of how and why equipment fails will show that these new technology applications fall short of truly preventing equipment failures.
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